One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Aibetsu愛別町
The mushroom village on the road to Sounkyo
Kamikawa region · Lavender, patchwork hills and the roof of Hokkaido.
Aibetsu is Hokkaido's mushroom kingdom — shiitake and friends fill its roadside pots of kinoko ramen.
Aibetsu is a small town in the upper Ishikari valley between Asahikawa and Sounkyo, where the basin closes in and the mountains begin. It calls itself the mushroom village: shiitake, enoki and nameko are grown in sheds along the valley and turned into the mushroom ramen the town is known for. A dam lake in the hills, forested slopes and the river itself make up the scenery. Most people pass through on Route 39; the mushroom festival in September is the reason to stop.
- Region
- Kamikawa (上川)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~203 km · 3.1 h summer / 3.7 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~192 km · 3 h summer / 3.5 h winter
- Best season in Kamikawa
- July for lavender, September for Japan's first autumn colors on Daisetsuzan, winter for serious snow country.
Aibetsu at a glance
Drive estimates: straight-line × 1.35, at 65 km/h (summer) / 55 km/h (winter). How we calculate
What to see in Aibetsu
Mushroom Festival
きのこの里フェスティバル
Held each September, when the town serves a giant pot of mushroom soup and sells its shiitake, enoki and nameko straight from the growers.
Aibetsu Dam and lake
愛別ダムと湖
A dam lake in the wooded hills north of town, with a quiet shoreline road and autumn colors on the surrounding slopes in October.
The Ishikari River valley
石狩川の谷
The river runs through town on its way down from Daisetsuzan, with riverside parks and views up the narrowing valley toward the Sounkyo cliffs.
Getting to Aibetsu
Asahikawa Airport is about one hour by car. Route 39 runs through town between Asahikawa and Sounkyo, and the Asahikawa–Monbetsu expressway has an interchange at Aibetsu. JR Sekihoku Main Line local trains stop at Aibetsu station, about 40 minutes from Asahikawa.
Kamikawa region: Asahikawa has its own airport and fast JR links from Sapporo (about 85 minutes). Furano and Biei are best by car or the summer sightseeing trains.
When to visit Aibetsu
September for the mushroom festival and the start of autumn colors in the valley. June to August for green hills and river walks. The town is very quiet in winter, when it serves mainly as a road stop toward Sounkyo's ice festival.
What to eat in Aibetsu
Mushrooms are everything here: shiitake, enoki, nameko and others grown year-round and served in the town's mushroom ramen and soups. Rice from the valley and mountain vegetables in spring round out the local table.
Aibetsu in context: the Kamikawa region
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Kamikawa holds the two images most people picture when they think of Hokkaido in summer: Furano's purple lavender fields and Biei's rolling patchwork hills. Asahikawa, the island's second city, anchors the region with its shoyu ramen and a zoo famous for up-close animal enclosures.
Towns near Aibetsu
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More towns in Kamikawa
Other regions: Ishikari · Sorachi · Shiribeshi · Iburi · Hidaka · Oshima · Hiyama · Rumoi · Soya · Okhotsk · Tokachi · Kushiro · Nemuro